The game of handball is played on a court comprised of from one to four walls, although the game can be varied in any number of ways, e.g., it can be played across a tennis court, and with or without a ceiling. A fundamental aspect of the game of handball is that the players are completely free to use either hand to hit the ball, unlike raquetball or squash where a racket is held in one hand.
The game of handball has never attracted a relatively large following of players. This is due in large part to the fact that hitting the ball with the hand is often painful and injurious. Even experienced players with well-conditioned hands complain of swelling and pain lasting for days after playing this sport. Presently, gloves made of canvas or leather, with little or no padding, are used to protect the hands of the player. However, such gloves only slightly reduce the discomfort associated with the game.
It has been known to attach the hitting surface of a racket directly to the hand in order to protect the hand. However, the means of attachment employed by the prior art has typically been a glove, which makes the use of hand rackets for handball impractical. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,558,666 to J. Brewer et. al., discloses a hand racket which is attached to the hand of the player by means of a glove. Once the player inserts one hand into the glove and buckles it, the player's fingers are securely fastened to the racket making it impossible to buckle another racket onto the other hand.